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Chinese president arrives in Moscow for state visit to Russia, Bilateral Relations, Syria, Iran, North Korea on the Agenda

June 5, 2019

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping

Chinese president arrives in Moscow for state visit to Russia

Editor: mingmei

MOSCOW, June 5, 2019 (Xinhua) --

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here on Wednesday for a state visit to Russia as the two countries are expected to bring their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination to a new era.

Upon arrival, Xi said he would exchange views with Russian President Vladimir Putin on how to deepen bilateral ties and promote practical cooperation, and over major international and regional issues of common concerns.

The two heads of state would plan for the future development of bilateral relationship so as to push forward the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination to a new era of greater development at a higher level, Xi said.

Xi's visit to Russia, the eighth since 2013 when he was elected Chinese president, comes as the two countries are embracing the historic moment of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Thanks to the joint efforts from both sides, China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is now at its best in history, serving as a model of living in harmony and win-win cooperation between major countries and neighboring countries, Xi said.

China and Russia enjoy strong political trust, maintain sound mechanisms of high-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and keep close coordination in global affairs, playing a positive and constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability of the region and the world as well as international fairness and justice, Xi said.

After standing the test of changing circumstances over the past 70 years, the bilateral relations are increasingly mature, stable and resilient, Xi said, noting the ties is at a new historical starting point with a new historic opportunity.

During the visit, Xi and Putin are expected to sign or witness the signing of important cooperation documents, and attend a gathering celebrating the 70 anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Xi will also attend the 23rd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He will address a plenary session to expound China's ideas on sustainable development and call for concerted efforts to safeguard multilateralism and improve global governance for the common development and prosperity of the world.

Xi and Putin, maintaining close friendship, have met nearly 30 times on bilateral and multilateral occasions since 2013. In a meeting with Putin in April, Xi said the bilateral relationship has become a major-country relationship featuring the highest degree of mutual trust, the highest level of coordination and the highest strategic value.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/cnleaders/20190605xjp/index.htm

Syria, Iran, N. Korea on agenda as Xi meets with Putin in Moscow 70 yrs since diplomatic ties began

RT, 5 Jun, 2019

There are a lot of common causes on the table for the leaders of Russia and China as they meet in the Russian capital. The visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of Beijing opening diplomatic relations with Moscow.

China and Russia “have strong political mutual trust and support each other firmly on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns,” Xi said ahead of his trip. On the international stage, the two nations have worked hand-in-hand to end the conflict in Syria, draft and preserve the nuclear deal with Iran, and end the standoff on the Korean Peninsula. All of these issues will likely be on the agenda during the meeting at the Kremlin on Wednesday.

While in Moscow, the Chinese leader will also attend a performance at the Bolshoi theatre. He will then travel to St. Petersburg for the International Economic Forum.

A common cause in Syria

The threat of terrorists migrating from Syria to southeast Asia – in Russia and China’s backyard – has prompted Moscow and Beijing to work together to bring stability back to Syria and the surrounding region.

Both nations have advocated for a peaceful, political solution to the Syrian conflict. They have challenged the “Assad must go” rhetoric and resolutions put forward by the United States and its allies on the UN Security Council, sometimes even employing their veto powers.

Salvaging the Iran deal

Putin and Xi will undoubtedly compare notes on the latest developments on Iran. As signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, colloquially known as the ‘Iran nuclear deal’), Russia and China have loudly protested Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the accord and unilaterally reimpose sanctions.

With Washington ramping up its rhetoric and deploying warships to the Persian Gulf to “send a message” to Tehran, Putin and Xi are expected to discuss how their countries can help Iran work around the sanctions – and growing hostility – from Washington.

Diffusing tensions with North Korea

The positions of Russia and China also coincide on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The two nations have been coordinating diplomatic efforts to lift sanctions on Pyongyang. In March, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon thanked Russia, China, and Japan for their “support” and “constructive role” in trying to negotiate nuclear disarmament with the North.

Moscow and Beijing have sharply criticized US military drills and exercises that have been held in the region, describing these activities as counter-productive provocations.

Seeing eye-to-eye on Venezuela

China and Russia are also in agreement on who is the legitimate president of Venezuela. While self-declared interim president Juan Guaido has received the blessing of Washington and its European allies, Moscow and Beijing continue to recognize Nicolas Maduro as the country’s leader.

https://www.rt.com/news/461115-xi-putin-moscow-visit-china/

China Focus: Xi's upcoming Russia visit to push forward bilateral ties

Editor: Yamei

BEIJING, May 30, 2019 (Xinhua) --

With joint efforts from both sides, Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Russia will be a great success and push bilateral relations into a new era, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui said Thursday.

At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Xi will pay a state visit to Russia and attend the 23rd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum from June 5 to 7.

President Xi and President Putin will comprehensively sum up the experience on the development of bilateral relations in the past 70 years, chart the course for their future development, and upgrade and elevate the ties, Zhang said.

At present, the international situation is witnessing unprecedented changes in a century, and the basic norms governing international relations have been seriously impacted by rising unilateralism. Regional hotspot issues are fermenting, and the common threats and challenges facing human society are on the rise, said Zhang at a press briefing on the visit.

Under current circumstances, China-Russia relations have become increasingly mature, stable and strong, said Zhang, adding that "the political mutual trust between the two countries is solid and the two sides firmly support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns."

According to Zhang, trade between China and Russia hit a record of over 100 billion U.S. dollars last year. Strategic projects in fields of energy, aerospace and interconnectivity have been solidly promoted. Besides, cooperation in emerging fields such as agriculture, finance, science and technology, and e-commerce has developed rapidly.

The cooperation between the two countries has demonstrated strong endogenous driving forces and broad development prospects, Zhang added.

The two sides jointly held the year of bilateral cooperation and exchanges at local levels in 2018 and 2019, with local exchanges continuing to expand and people-to-people and cultural exchanges continuing to heat up, Zhang said.

China and Russia have carried out close and effective coordination in international affairs, firmly upholding an international system with the United Nations as its core and an international order based on the international law, and staunchly safeguarding world peace, stability and international fairness and justice, Zhang said. "The two countries advocate multilateralism and an open world economy, and have played a role as a ballast stone and stabilizer in the changing international situation."

"This is Xi's first state visit to Russia since his re-election as Chinese president, which will be of milestone significance in the development of bilateral relations and will surely promote greater development of bilateral ties under the new situation," Zhang said.

Noting this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, Zhang said that during his visit, Xi will hold a series of activities with President Putin, jointly attend events such as a gathering celebrating the 70th anniversary of the ties, and sign or witness the signing of some important cooperation documents.

On Xi's attendance of the 23rd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Zhang said the Chinese president will deliver a speech at the plenary session of the forum, expounding China's ideas on sustainable development, and working with all parties to advocate multilateralism and improve global governance for the common development and prosperity of the global village.

"This visit will consolidate the political foundation of Sino-Russian relations, reaffirm their mutual support to each other on issues involving respective core and major concerns, and ensure the ties will not be affected by any change in the international situation," said Zhang, adding that the visit will also open up new prospects for pragmatic cooperation in various fields, and help translate the advantages in high-level political relations into more tangible results.

It is believed that with the joint efforts of China and Russia, Xi's visit to Russia will be a complete success, as it will promote bilateral relations to enter a new era and contribute more to the two countries' development, and world peace and stability, Zhang said.

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